Forever on a budget but with a looming April 2014 deadline and performance issues with our current server, I am looking for the cheapest and easiest way for a solo IT shop to upgrade from SBS 2003 to Server 2012.

Our server is aging but still quite robust enough to handle the upgrade. We backup active directory every night and I am fairly confident (only fairly because I've never did a verification restore of AD with the backup) our backups are good.

We have a C drive with the OS and the D drive hosts all of our files. We do not use Exchange. Our server is also our primary DNS server.

I've never in my life did a AD server upgrade and I have no onsite backup and may have to rely on the SpiceWorks community for help.

Is this going to be a bigger challenge than I thought or is there a chance this can go fairly smoothly, with all of my DR options in place?

13 Replies

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I would imagine that with SBS 2003, you'll need to upgrade to 2008 first, then to 2012 to upgrade (this is what I found when looking to upgrade my network). If you can, get a new server and setup a new domain on that. It should be a straight-forward process if it's just AD and a File Server.

What are the specs on the current server? Memory, hard drive size? free space? number of CPUs? Cores? How much can you beef it up with larger drives and RAM?

I have yet to see a 2003 machine that can handle a 64bit OS without more of each. Even then you have your old CPUs running the show. Go to serverworlds.com. Get a generation or two back machine for the upgrade. Start fresh.

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If you do not use Exchange why even bother to stay with SBS? If I were in your shoes I would add a new physical host with server 2012, and then use Hyper-V 2012 to create a new domain controller and file server as guests. After they are up and running you can get rid of the SBS 2003 server completely.

- Make sure that DHCP on the new server is pointing to the new DNS server. This will ensure that your clients will receive the correct DNS settings on their PC's through DHCP. In the DHCP snap-in, expand your server name, then expand "Scope", then click on "Scope Options". Right click on "006 DNS Servers" and select "Properties". Make sure that your new DNS server is the only option listed.

After all of this has been completed, you can demote your 2003 DC. Open an elevated command prompt and enter "dcpromo". Follow the wizard to demote your 2003 DC. If there are any issues during demotion, the wizard will let you know.

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What are the specs on the current server? Memory, hard drive size? free space? number of CPUs? Cores? How much can you beef it up with larger drives and RAM?

I have yet to see a 2003 machine that can handle a 64bit OS without more of each. Even then you have your old CPUs running the show. Go to serverworlds.com. Get a generation or two back machine for the upgrade. Start fresh.

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Garako, setting up a new (or newer) server from scratch will be much easier to setup. It also gives you leeway in setting up the domain and AD since you'd have your current one running still.

This is still our plan but because we are month to month with penny pinching, just looking for relief now... :(

You can either start looking for a used server that would meet the specs needed. Last resort would be get a very good backup, wipe the server and rebuild over a weekend. A nervous prospect, but one to consider if you need to do it sooner rather than later.

You can either start looking for a used server that would meet the specs needed. Last resort would be get a very good backup, wipe the server and rebuild over a weekend. A nervous prospect, but one to consider if you need to do it sooner rather than later.

+1

I recommend a second hand server is your budget can't stretch for new gear. If you're not too confident you could bring up a backup on a VM, maybe Virtual Box, that way you can be confident and you could also try a dry run.

Run dcdiag to check the health of your server just in case and clear up any issues it finds.